What is the value of giving prospects hands-on control during presentations and leave behinds? Zvi Guterman, founder and CEO of CloudShare, is here today to tell us. CloudShare is a cloud company providing IT labs as a service mainly for IT training, IT sales enablement, and sandboxing, all in the cloud. Like most entrepreneurs, Zvi got the idea for CloudShare when faced with a problem that needed a solution. In previous positions, there was always a point in the sales process when Zvi needed to build a demo or training talk. When he realized how much time and work he was spending to build that infrastructure, as opposed to actually doing the demo and closing the deal, he knew there had to be a better way. He looked but couldn’t find a service to create labs for him, so he decided to create that service. Ten years and $30 million later, Zvi has seen a lot. HANDS-ON CONTROL DURING PRESENTATIONS Zvi learned from working with his customers and users that, once a prospect is given a hands-on experience, the level of commitment from those prospects increases. It is no longer some vague idea that you are selling but rather a tangible product. When the clients understand how the software works, for example, it is easier for them to imagine using it. They are more committed and less worried because their questions are answered. It also allows sales to collaborate with the prospects on how best to utilize the product.   Hands-on experiences remove obstacles and shorten the sales cycle. #SalesCycle CLICK TO TWEET   A hands-on experience allows sales to move control of the demonstration to the prospect. It increases the prospect’s understanding of the product and allows them the opportunity to ask questions they may not even know they had. Onboarding then becomes super enjoyable. Begin by answering simple questions and explaining terminology. Then, proceed together to determine other areas to test, what type of specific functionality to add, or which performance issues need to be addressed. It also enables sales to personalize a timeline and success criteria for each prospect. OTHER BENEFITS OF THE HANDS-ON APPROACH  Client engagement increases retention. The hands-on process increases usage and reduces the risk of the prospects buying but never deploying the product simply because they don’t have the time to install or set it up. Cases will still arise where the product is not a good match for your prospect. But looking at the big picture, you want to see the No’s. Hands-on presentations shorten the time spent on irrelevant leads because the prospects will see right away whether the product is a match for their needs. Most times, salespeople focus on leads or clients that are not going to progress. Engaging the customer with hands-on opportunities saves times and energy for everyone. Zvi insists that the demonstration parameters be the same parameters the prospects can expect when the product is deployed to their data centers. They do not optimize or otherwise tweak the demonstration. This provides true value to the customers. It also allows everyone the opportunity to enjoy the move toward deployment. The transition is smoother and the actual deployment is faster. THE DUALITY OF THE HANDS-ON PROCESS The prospects are happy with the duality of the hands-on process. On one hand, they have control of the environment. No one will interfere or touch their data. At the same time, sales is available to answer any questions and to collaborate. An in-house test lab is probably the most common scenario in many organizations but scheduling use of the lab is both cumbersome and expensive. CloudShare simplifies and reduces that cost by reducing the amount of lab time.  Hands-on demonstrations are more efficient, more powerful, and less expensive. Providing hands-on demonstrations and a trial in the cloud also allows for more and more advanced scenarios. Zvi sees people utilizing all the available tools together and becoming more efficient. People